


Still Holding On

by IsabelParkerStevens



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Non-Canon Relationship, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-02-10 06:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12906393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelParkerStevens/pseuds/IsabelParkerStevens
Summary: There's a way that everything is supposed to go. You go to school, make friends, study hard for exams. Then you fall in love and get married and blah blah blah. What are you supposed to do when there's a war coming? What am I supposed to do when my side has been chosen for me?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.1 - School Shopping.

 

“Ow,” I complained as I was poked once again with a small needle. The witch who haphazardly waved her wand was old, very old. Her hands contained a tremor that was so pronounced I expected it had been there her whole life.

“Ollivanders after this, darling. Then I think we should be almost done.” My mother commented absentmindedly, ticking off the various tasks from her list.

“But couldn’t we just…?” She looked up at me and my question was cut short without the need for an answer.

“First years are not allowed their own brooms, Nina.” She repeated. But I’d already seen the Nimbus 2000 in the window on the high-street, other wizards and witches of my own age with their noses pressed against the glass. I sighed in defeat as the fantasy of breaking the rules of Hogwarts before I’d even got there were whisked away.

My attention was diverted to the pedestal next to me as the bell jingled and a boy stepped up next to me. White-blond hair was slicked back, drawing further emphasis to his sharp and pronounced features. He examined his own reflection in the mirror before turning to me, a gesture I replied to with a slight smile. His eyes flickered down to my mouth before his eyebrows furrowed and he turned away.

“That’s you done then, dear.” The old witch sighed before charming the pins of out my jet-black robes. Plain from head to foot, the robes were yet to be adorned with the house that I would find myself in by tomorrow night. My mother stuffed her list back into her purse, paid the witch for her services and ushered me from the shop.

“Now we just need to find your brother and father,” she commented as she kept the brown string-tied package clutched close to her chest. Eventually, outside the apothecary, we found my father, who was piling small jars and vials into the arms of my brother. He rolled his eyes through the new glasses he’d had to start wearing over the summer and I stifled a giggle.

“Did you get everything?” My mother questioned. My father nodded in response but it was clear my mother didn’t believe him.

“Are you sure? The books?” He nodded and sighed.

“Alec picked them up whilst I got her cauldron.” My mother ran a manicured nail down the list for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

“Ok, I got her gloves, hat, cloak, and robes.”

“I also got her telescope, crystal phials, and the scales. Is that everything?”

“No! My wand.” I remembered, suddenly brimming with excitement as I spotted the windows to Ollivanders. I had taken off and entered the shop before my parents had the chance to follow.

There were boxes piled from floor to ceiling, varying in colors but every box was the same size, dust clung to some of them and cobwebs to others. The old man at his desk had looked up the moment I’d stepped in and waited for my eyes to locate him amongst the wands. My parents and brother quickly stepped in after me and settled the other things they’d bought for my first year at school on the window ledge.

“Ah, Miss Rosier? Is it that time already?” I nodded as he looked at my parents. “Finally of to Hogwarts alongside your brother.”

“Remind me, Miss Selwyn, what wand chose you again?” My mother pulled her wand from her purse, smiling proudly at its delicate features and white colour.

“Ah yes, Aspen wood. Phoenix feather if I remember correctly?” My mother nodded.

“It’s served me well.” She replied as he handed it back and repeated the action with my father.

“Beech.” Ollivander smiled as he ran his old fingers along the groves of my father’s wand. “For those wise beyond their years and full of understanding.” My father cleared his throat and I couldn’t help but notice him tilt his chin upward slightly. Ollivander handed the wand back and leaned over his desk to me. He examined my face before retreating to the back of his shop, returning moments later with a purple box in hand. He removed a wand of English Oak and my hand clasped around the handle, it felt cold to the touch and made my palm itch but I waved it none the less. My brother laughed aloud as we heard a scream from down the street. I quickly placed the wand back on the desk. Ollivander sighed and returned to the shop, returning this time with two boxes, one grey, and one green. He opened the grey one first and handed it down to me.

“Yew.” He said simply and I waved it again. My mother jumped as two of the floorboards ripped themselves up from under her feet and combusted into thousands of tiny splinters.

“No, I didn’t think so but I like to check anyway. Here.” He took the wand away and handed me the third one. As soon as I touched it, warmth spread throughout my hand and arm and I felt instantly attached to the stick of wood in my hand. I waved it slightly and several silver wisps emerged from the end and floated around the air, dancing to their own silent song.

“Yes. Yes, I think that is the one for you, young Miss.” I reluctantly handed the wand back as he wrapped it in its green box and tied it shut with black ribbon.

“A questing wand, it is always seeking out the next great adventure. It will become dangerous if left to the mundane activities that occupy so many of our lives.”

“Sounds like you’re destined for Gryffindor in that case, Moonshine,” Alec smirked, I grimaced and looked up at my father.

“Leave your sister alone, if I remember correctly, weren’t you almost a hatstall? Wasn’t it almost Hufflepuff? We all know how much yellow doesn’t suit you.” A rose tint appeared on my brother’s cheeks as my mother hushed them both, paid Ollivander and we left the shop.

“That’s definitely everything now.” My father said. “I want to go home and have some well-deserved dinner. It’s an early morning start tomorrow after all. The train will leave at exactly at 11 am.”


	2. On the Hogwarts Express

1.2 - On the Hogwarts Express

 

Everything in my life has led up to this moment, to be stood in front of the gleaming red steam train on Platform 9 3/4. For the past four years, I had come within touching distance only to be whisked away once my brother had set off for school. But now it was my turn, I would finally be accompanying him to Hogwarts and would continue to do so for the next seven years of my life.

I was roused from my daydream when two firm hands squeezed my shoulders. I tipped my head back and looked up at the smiling face of my father.

“Did you find her?” I heard my mothers voice call over the noise. I peered behind my father and spotted my mother hurrying over to us, my satchel draped over her shoulder. She had stopped to hand my trunk over to the steward and I had taken the opportunity to slip away.

“Nina Aurelia Rosier. Do not run away like that again. What if you’d got on the train and we’d not said goodbye?” My mother questioned as she draped my bag over my shoulder and began fussing over my plain black uniform. My satchel shuffled and a low growl could be heard until I patted it, soothing the contents. Before we had left home, I had examined myself in the mirror wondering how I would look in the colours of Ravenclaw. The same house my father and brother, Alec. I had also wondered how I would look as a Slytherin. The entirety of my mother’s family belonged to the house, but I knew it had a bad reputation. My mother had made sure to explain that to great lengths, but it hadn’t put me off. Yes, I was smart and witty but my mother and I were almost inseparable and I couldn’t help but feel like Slytherin was just where I belonged. I knew it didn’t matter greatly, but my name was scratched into an ancient sheet of parchment, one of the oldest and purest families in the wizarding world and I knew that the majority of those families resided in Slytherin.

“Mother, we’ve said goodbye at least five times already.” I sighed as she tucked my hair behind my ears. She sighed and pressed a firm kiss to my forehead.

“I know, but you’re my baby, my little girl. You’re not supposed to be this ready to leave home. You’re supposed to be scared and cry to stay.” I glanced up at my father who smiled and squeezed my mother's shoulder.

“I could pretend? If it made you feel better?” I shrugged before she pulled me into a tight hug. I clutched onto the fabric of her coat, feeling tears well in my eyes. I would miss my family a great deal, but I would at least have the company of my brother to comfort me whilst I was gone.

“No, darling, of course not. It’s good that you’re ready to go. Hogwarts doesn’t know what it’s got in store.”

“She’s your daughter with my last name. They know exactly what is coming.” My father joked, feigning pain as my mother tutted and swatted him on the lapels of his coat.

“A Quidditch prodigy is what’s coming.” My brother Alec interjected, having rejoined us after seeking out his group of Ravenclaw housemates. He slipped his arm over my shoulder and roughed up my hair, laughing at my futile attempts to fight back.

“First years can’t try out for the team, you know that.”

“Yes. But you will kick butt in your flying lessons and by the time second year starts, you won't need to try out. They’ll be begging you to join the team. And if I get the Captaincy for Ravenclaw this year…” he winked at our father confidently, “…then I guarantee you a spot.”

“What if I'm not in Ravenclaw?...,” I muttered, unsure of myself and the kind of person Hogwarts would shape me to be. If I was sorted into Slytherin, a label came with that, a label my family name was already associated with. Pure-blood supremacy, family members that no one spoke of, and old stories from the first war that still marred my name when we weren’t in the company of our own kind.

My father sighed, took off his glasses and knelt down in front of me.

“Now, I want you to listen to me, Nina. Do you think your mother, brother and I love you?” I nodded with furrowed eyebrows, my father's wisdom was often long-winded and riddle-like. “Do you think that the colours your uniform will change that, in any way? Is it going to change you? Will being a Ravenclaw make your head swell? Will being in Slytherin turn your eyes yellow like a Snake?” I giggled at his questions.

“No.” He feigned disappointment.

“Well, that is a shame. It would have made the family Christmas photograph so much more interesting. But I’m afraid all they will see is a beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious young witch surrounded by family who loves her.”

Tears finally sprung from my eyes as I hugged my father as tightly as I could. He stood, lifting me off my feet as my mother and brother joined in the hug. We only separated when the horn from the train alerted us, and the other students who still lined the platform, that it was time to go.

“Basil, darling.” My mother spoke as my father kept hold of one of my hands. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as I looked to my brother who took firm hold of my shoulders.

“We’ll see you at Christmas,” Alec said, perfectly calm. He hugged our father briefly and tutted as our mother left a red lipstick stain on his cheek.

“Mum, come on. My friends…”

“You will never be too old for a kiss from your mother.” She tutted. I giggled at his feeble attempt to rub off the stain as we headed for the train door.

“Behave! Don’t get into trouble!” Our mother called.

“Don’t forget to write!” Our father added. I glanced back as they stood together, waving to us both.

“Love you!” I called as Alec lifted me over a stray trunk and into the train.

“Look after your sister!” I heard our father call before the train door shut behind us. Within moments the train began to pull away. I leaned out the small window and waved to them both until they were out of sight. As the train left Kings Cross, everyone began to settle into their seats and compartments.

“Come on.” Alec gestured as he guided me through the throngs of people who were chattering away, discussing their activities over the summer. “First years have their own carriage; to force you all to get to know each other before we get there.”

I was surprised by how many friends from other houses my brother had. I knew he was popular, he had received letters daily through the summer. It was nice to see that he was surrounded by a large friend group. One of the main topics of conversation that arose was if Alec was dating Ember Fall. He tactfully avoided answering the question, but I felt privileged to know he was dating the pretty Ravenclaw girl.

I followed him to the back of the train where the door of the last carriage remained shut.

“This is you, Moonshine.” He roughed my hair again before laughing and leaving me facing the most daunting door I had ever seen in my life.

I hesitantly pulled the door open and began peering into the compartments. Most of them were already full with other students who seemed to have settled into conversation. I left them to it and continued to seek out somewhere to sit. I began to feel nervous as I neared the end of the train, but came across a small compartment with only one boy, sat alone. He was staring out of the window but his gentle gaze shifted to a steely stare when I opened the door.

“Who are you?” He demanded before I had a chance to introduce myself. I instantly recognised him as the boy from Madam Malkins, there was recognition in his eyes as well but there was still no smile and my own faded quickly.

“Umm, I’m Nina.” There was a moment of awkward silence as I cleared my throat.

“What’s your name?” He hesitated for a moment as if assessing the risk of telling me.

“Draco.” He finally answered.

“Oh! Like the constellation? That’s cool. My name comes from a Babylonian goddess of oceans. My full name is actually Antonina but no one calls me that,” I cleared my throat “It’s um…just Nina.” The pointless and embarrassing fact had left my mouth before I could stop it. Draco simply nodded as a further moment of awkward silence descended. Until two rather large boys came thundering down the corridor and pushed past me to gain access to the compartment. My satchel growled again as it banged against the wall of the corridor. They looked like they belonged in third year but they both wore generic uniforms, identical to the other first years.

“Who’s she? She’s not sitting with us, is she?” One asked, looking me up and down with distaste clear on his face.

“She could be a mudblood.” The other commented, sniggering. I was taken aback but before I could protest, Draco answered for me.

“No. She’s not sitting with us.” I scrunched my nose in annoyance, and let the door slide shut. I dipped my hand into my satchel, stroking the soft contents as I continued to hunt for somewhere to sit.

At the very back of the carriage, I found one more compartment. A blonde girl sat inside with her face buried in a rather old copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I smiled at the worn spine and dog-eared pages. A well-read book was a well-loved book like my grandmother had said to me when I was a young child. Most of the books on my shelf at home had been passed down from her.

I knocked on the window and she looked up, offered a small smile and nodded. I opened the door and the girl stood and smiled wider.

“Hi! I’m Amelia. Everyone calls me Mia though. Do you want to sit in here with me?” She asked, gesturing to the spare seat opposite her.

“Can I? I’ve tried everywhere else.”

“Sure. My Mum and Dad packed loads of snacks. We can share if you want.” She pulled on the handle of her brown leather satchel that had a large rag-doll cat sleeping on top of it.

“Come on, Jinx. Move your bum.” She muttered, gently pushing her now growling companion onto the fabric seat.

“She’s pretty,” I commented, admiring the sharp blue contrast of the cat’s eyes against her white fur. I patted my own satchel, causing a brown paw to swipe at my hand.

“Oh my goodness, do you have a cat too?” I nodded and opened the top of my satchel, pulling out my large, grumpy Maine Coon. She jumped out of my hands and onto the seat where she stretched out her legs, meowing as she spotted Jinx. We watched as the two cats examined each other across the gap before they began to playfully swat at each other.

“What’s her name?” Mia asked.

“Iris. Well, Osiris. I named her after the Egyptian God of Death.”

“She’s beautiful.” Mia smiled, clearly unphased by the odd tale behind my cat's name. Everyone prior to her had been amused about it.

“Jinx is stunning. Those eyes…” I complimented as Mia rummaged in her satchel and pulled out a handful of money. My eyebrows furrowed as Mia offered me some.

“What’s this for?” I questioned, hesitantly taking a gold coin.

“A snack,” Mia explained as she pulled away a foil cover to expose chocolate underneath.

“Chocolate money? That’s amazing.” I commented as I pulled the cover away and bit into the coin. “Where did you get it?”

“My dad got them from Woolworths a couple of days ago.”

“Is that in Diagon Alley?” Mia laughed.

“No, it’s a muggle shop. How have you never seen a Woolworths?” I shrugged as I opened my bottle of water.

“There isn’t one in Diagon Alley. We don’t really shop anywhere else.”

“Oh, do you live in the Wizarding world?” I nodded in response.

“You don’t?” I guessed. Mia shook her head.

“No. I’m half and half. My Dad’s a muggle. My mum was in Slytherin whilst she was at school. What about you?”

“Oh, my whole family is magical. As far back as we can trace back our lineage. My mother was in Slytherin along with her whole family, everyone on my Dad’s side too until he and my brother came along. They’re both in Ravenclaw.”

“Ooh, so you don’t know where you’ll get put?”

“I suppose not but I guess that’s part of the excitement, isn’t it?”

The remainder of the train journey passed quickly as we became better acquainted. The day began to darken as evening drew in. Mia changed into her generic school robes as I cleared up the sweet wrappers we had dropped on the floor. I opened the top of my satchel and Iris jumped back in, resting her chin on the edge. I scratched under her chin as the train began to slow and excited first years crammed into the corridor.

“Behave whilst I’m gone. Please don’t scratch anyone.” Iris growled in response and Mia laughed.

“I love your cat.” I sighed as Jinx jumped into her own satchel.

“That makes one of us.” I sighed as I looked out of the dark window. Far off in the distance, I could see the glistening lights and I’d heard enough to know that Hogwarts was near.


	3. Journey Across the Black Lake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like it please review! I've got twelve weeks of chapters in the pipeline that are finished and ready to be uploaded so if you like it let me know!

1.3 Journey Across the Black Lake 

 

It was early evening by the time the Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Mia and I joined the other excited students in the corridor. We leaned to peer out the train windows as we watched the older years who were already on the platform. They headed off in different directions towards the transport that would escort them to the castle.

Eventually, the prefects opened the doors to the final carriage and a sea of eleven-year-olds poured out onto the platform. The excitement amplified even further, with the castle having come into view. Everyone was chattering and pointing up at the imposing building. I clutched onto the sleeve of Mia’s robes, to prevent us from being separated in the swarm of schoolmates. Initially, we were unsure of where to go, just stumbling about awkwardly as we wandered with no real direction. But before long a booming voice from the end of the platform caught our attention.

“Firs’ years this way! All firs’ years, come on! Over here, that’s is, chop, chop, we ain't got all night!”

Mia and I followed the sound through the dispersing threads of students who already knew where they were going. I wondered if Alec was still on the platform but I couldn’t see him in the crowd. As we got closer, I spotted the largest man I had ever seen, he was smiling widely down at us all.

“Oh, my…” Amelia muttered quietly.

“He must be a giant,” I stated, my voice a little louder than hers and it seemed like he was. Holding a lantern so big it could have been the moon; he was heavily bearded with tiny black eyes.

“My mum said all the giants are gone - they died or were banished after the First Wizarding War,” Mia whispered. The giant in question introduced himself as Hagrid before lifting a huge arm and gesturing for us to follow. He turned, slowly, and began to walk down a narrow, dark path, each of his steps requiring us to break into a jog just to keep up. After a while, the path widened and we soon reached the stony shores of a large, dark lake. Quietly bumping against the rocks on the shoreline, was a series of small boats. Dainty swinging lanterns hung from the front - casting a yellowish glow onto the rippling water underneath.

“Do you suppose Jinx and Iris will be okay on the train?” Mia asked, glancing over her shoulder with a worried expression. I smiled softly, she clearly shared a strong bond with her cat. Something Iris and I also had but in a different way. She had been independent since she was a kitten and so often spent days away from me. I nodded at Mia's statement. We’d been instructed to leave our bags with our cats. But had been promised by the stewards that they would all be waiting for us in the common room of our assigned houses.

“I feel sorry for anyone who tries to pick up my satchel - Iris isn’t good with new people.” We turned our attention back to Hagrid who once again faced the sea of students.

“All youse go’ ta do is say go, and they go.” He climbed into his own boat and everyone followed suit. Amelia and I climbed into our own boat, scooted to the front and took hold of the lantern stem.

“Go,” Mia instructed and the boat began to push itself across the water. Hogwarts beckoned closer and closer until I had to tilt my head back to try and see it all. I felt my heart flip in my chest, this was it. Eleven years of waiting had paid off and I was finally here. Light glimmered in every window and the turrets stretched high into the dark starry sky. The castle almost seemed to beckon and the excitement int he air grew with every second.

As the castle got closer and closer, I felt my wand begin to quiver in my robes. Twelve and a half inches of Sycamore wood with a Dragon Heartstring core. It was my most prized possession. I’d only had it a day and already felt such a strong affinity with it - never letting it out of my sight.

The boats began to glide closer to the cliff face and excitement grew as they sailed through a curtain of damp ivy into a large cave. The water rippled against the walls and ceilings, creating a symphony of shapes surrounding us. I stifled a giggle as I caught Mia battling with a strand of stray Ivy that had found itself in her hair. Each of the boats glided slowly into a mini dock-like rock formation and each student jumped out. One boy had placed only one foot on the dock before slipping and falling over, much to the amusement of Draco and his two friends.

“That must be Neville,” Mia commented as she glanced behind us. “He came into my compartment a little before you, saying he’d lost his toad.”

“How bizarre.” I mused with a giggle as we watched two other boys help Neville to his feet; one with red hair and a smudge of dirt on his nose the other with messy black hair and circular glasses. Neville blurted out some thank you’s and stayed as close to the wall as possible, keeping his palms outstretched on the damp wall. Hagrid waited until all attention was once again on him and he began to walk up a set of damp steps, the sound of his heavy feet echoing throughout the cave. Soon the steps changed from wet rock to dry stone and suddenly, light flooded my eyes and I couldn’t believe it. I was here, actually in Hogwarts; on the grand staircase with only the great oak doors separating me from the Great Hall. Excitement once again began to bubble and chatter soon became loud conversation. Mia and I found ourselves at the front of the group and were stood next to the two boys who had assisted Neville. I heard Mia introduce herself to the two boys as I shifted between examining the crowd and staring the oak doors waiting for someone to emerge.

Suddenly, a witch approached the top of the stairs and we all quietened. Dressed in sleek emerald green robes, she held a scroll wrapped with a black ribbon. Her grip was tight and she wore a stern expression on her face. Holding out one hand, she spoke with a voice that commanded authority, laced with a thick Scottish Accent.

“Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, I’m sure you’re all very excited, hungry and impatient. But before the feast can begin you must be sorted into your houses. It will be either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin.” I noticed a hint of disdain in the witch’s voice as she read off the last house but it was only the start of the list of things I’d been told to expect. As she took a breath to continue her speech she was cut short by Neville lunging forward between Mia and I to scrape his toad off the top step. It had somehow made it to the castle along with everyone else without being squashed underfoot. He looked sheepishly up at the witch before muttering apologies and returning to the middle of the group. She sighed and curtly turned, leaving us all alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you are enjoying the merriment and the hideous amounts of food! I know I am. As a Christmas treat I thought I would upload two chapters today as a special gift to all my lovely readers! If you do enjoy the fic then please please leave reviews as I really do like to read them and it would make my Christmas!

Chapter 1.4 - The Sorting Ceremony.

The silence was short lived amongst our group as Draco sauntered to the front and singled out the boy with messy black hair. He shot a smirk in Mia’s direction and I glanced at her as she crossed her arms over her chest, defiance clear on her face. His eyes briefly flickered to me but soon returned to the boy in front of him.

“So it’s true. The famous Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.” Every student turned their attention to both boys and whispers of Harry’s name rippled throughout the crowd. I arched an eyebrow at the revelation. Of course, I knew the legend of the boy who lived, every child with magical blood did. It had been the main conversation at Diagon Alley between all the shop-owners. Had Harry Potter chosen his wand yet? What kind of pet do you think he’ll take? Etc etc. As Draco waited for the whispers to settle, I made a mental note that he seemed to like it when all attention was on him. The limelight was this boy’s favourite place to be. He introduced the large boys behind him as Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom sported vacant expressions. I couldn’t help but raise a judgmental eyebrow.

“I’m Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” He said confidently, causing a half-snigger, half-snort to come from the red-haired boy stood next to Harry.

“Of course!” I thought, “He’s a Malfoy. That explains everything!” My mother would often come home from work complaining about ‘Malfoy’, I imagined it must be Draco’s father.

Like father like son.

Draco’s head snapped to the red-head next to Harry and quickly gave him the once-over before a smirk appeared.

“Something funny, Weasley? I’d of thought with the amount of you with your last name, you’d have heard every joke there was.” I heard Mia exhale as the students were silenced. Draco turned his attention back to Harry and held out his hand, appearing to offer friendship.

Harry rejected the offer without a moment of hesitation. I heard Mia snort with laughter from beside me and Draco’s attention snapped round to the two of us. I kept my head low and hoped that he was too focused on Mia to see my shoulders shaking slightly.

“Clearly I’m missing out on some joke today. What are you laughing at Cavett?” He questioned with narrowed eyes.

“Oh, nothing at all. Don’t mind me.” I glanced at her to see a sweet but false smile plastered on her lips. As I managed to retain a neutral expression, Draco’s eyes once again washed over me and I felt my own narrow at him. I dropped my eyes as the green witch reappeared, tapping him impatiently on the shoulder with her scroll.

“We’re ready for you now, follow me.”

I could hardly contain my excitement as the doors to the Great Hall swung open. I took hold of Mia’s sleeve as we walked side by side up between the two centre tables full of students. As Mia commented on the enchanted ceiling I looked for the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw and looked up the table to where the fourth years sat. I quickly spotted Alec, he was surrounded by friends and next to him, holding his hand was the girl I knew to be Ember. They all waved to me and I waved back excitedly as we reached the front of the hall and stood opposite the teachers at the top table. In front of us all was a dirty, pointed hat that almost looked like it had a face on it, sat on an rickety old stool. The witch gestured for us to spread ourselves along the bottom step before turning to an aged wizard with a great white beard. I knew straight away that I was standing in front of Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards ever.

“Professor Dumbledore has a few words to make.” The headmaster stood and looked over the rims of his half-moon glasses and briefly ran one wrinkled hand over his long snow-white beard.

“First years please take note; the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden for all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr Filch…” he gestured to a raggedy looking man at the back of the hall who had a red-eyed cat sat on his shoulder. Even from the front of the hall, I could hear its low growl. “…would like me to remind ALL of you…” he then cast a glance at two red-headed twins sat at one of the middle tables. “…that the Third-Floor Corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds.” He nodded to the witch and sat down. She unrolled the scroll and I could barely contain myself, the moment was drawing closer and closer.

The green witch picked up the hat by the tip and called out the first name; “Hermione Granger!” Mia and I watched as a small girl with extremely bushy air, approached the stool whilst muttering calms to herself. We exchanged a skeptical look.

“Gryffindor!” It cried out and the Gryffindor table burst into applause.

“Draco Malfoy.” The witch called. She hadn’t even let go of the hats end before it replied.

“Slytherin!” The table to the far left cheered this time.

One by one each student climbed the steps and got sorted. I smiled to Mia as she got sorted into Slytherin and was handed a green and silver hair bow by an older student. She smiled gratefully and pinned it into her blonde curls.

When there was just a few students left, it was my turn.

“Nina Rosier.” I nervously climbed the steps and turned to face the Great Hall. I felt all eyes on me but I focused on the doors, trying to remember what my parents had said to me on Platform 9 3/4.

“Ah, another Rosier. I’ve been sorting your family for hundreds of years. Your brother was an anomaly, an eagle amongst serpents.” The hat almost seemed to sigh in thought as I felt a breeze tickle the top of my ears. I gripped the edge of the stool. The hat almost seemed to be in my head, watching my thoughts, finding my greatest dreams.

“So much, ambition, wit, cunning, creativity. Just like your mother…ah yes, I know. Slytherin!” The table on the far left of the room erupted into cheers and whistles. The witch removed the hat and I glanced to my brother who was clapping proudly, earning a few curious looks from other housemates. I made my way over to my new-found housemates. Draco was sat, alongside Crabbe and Goyle. A girl sat with short brown hair and a young boy with a stern face. My robes changed from plain black to green and silver with a hissing serpent now emblazoned on my chest. Mia smiled brightly as I sat down next to her.

“No getting rid of me now.” She grinned. We both watched as the last two students were sorted. A short brunette girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and the last boy, Blaise Zabini, offered a small smile as he took his seat opposite me.

Once the hat was gone, Professor Dumbledore stood up and held out his hands.

“Feast.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 1.5 - Slytherin.

It took some time but eventually, everyone had had their fill of the food Hogwarts could offer. I had become acquainted with our house ghost, The Bloody Baron and had been firmly instructed to never ask him how he got so bloody. The Head Boy and Head Girl of each house stood and began leading everyone back to their own Common Rooms. I managed to catch Alec’s eye as he climbed toward Ravenclaw Tower with his housemates whilst I followed mine down into the depths of the castle.

“I’ll be right back,” Mia whispered to me suddenly, squeezing my hand before she shot off onto the main landing. The tall, stone walls were adorned with moving paintings of famous witches and wizards from years gone by. Some waved as we passed and others showed displays of contempt. Some even yelled at those who got a little too close.

“I guess one perk is that we won’t have to climb all those horrid steps,” Mia noted, having returned to my side.

“Alec once taught me a charm that turns stairs into a slide.” I thought suddenly, “But now he’s decided he wants to be an Professional Quidditch Player so he’s gone all serious.” I replied as we reached a dark hall. Two single torches lit either side of a block of plain wall, the bricks were grey, dimpled and cool to the touch. I could hear water trickling somewhere but everywhere was dry. As we stooped in front of a bare wall, Mia and I exchanged confused looks along with all the other first years.

“Slytherin Common Room is the most secure in the castle.” The Head Boy began. He was very tall and thin with teeth at awkward angles and if he hadn’t been in Slytherin, I may have had a private laugh to myself. But if nothing else, I knew Slytherin taught you to have respect for your fellow housemates, no matter what their shortcomings.

“Our Common Room requires a password like the other houses but one thing that sets us apart is that few other students can even find the door.” The Head Girl said as she stepped to her left and then took one step back, showing that there was a gap between the two walls. She disappeared and everyone quickly followed into a dimly illuminated passage. Soon, it widened into another hallway where a single ornate black door adorned with serpents intertwined amongst one another. He muttered the password, something that sounded like Latin and the door swung open, allowing us to enter.

The Slytherin Common Room was rather dark. The floor was a deep cherry-hinted mahogany and the walls were either shiny black tiles or more dark wood paneling. Where windows should be, there were instead thick panes of glass allowing us all to look out into the waters of the Black Lake. In the centre of the far wall was a large fireplace, above which, an emerald-eyed serpent was mounted on a plate. It’s single eye glinted in the dim light and almost seemed to follow us around the room as we took in our surroundings. Leather sofas and matching armchairs were strategically placed around the room, accompanied by grey cushions and fluffy blankets.

Exhaustion quickly overcame us all as some followed the older students advice and skulked off to find their dormitories. As I gazed up at the vaulted ceiling, I heard Mia yawn next to me.

“I’m exhausted. Coming to bed?” I queried and was grateful when she agreed with my idea. We both wandered through a wide, stone passageway to the right of the Common Room, where all the other first year girls were heading. Several doors lined the hall with names scribbled on sheets of parchment. Under the silver ‘3’ on the door in front of us, were both our names along with three others.

“Hey, look! We’re in the same dorm.” Mia smiled as she opened the door. The entire far wall was another thick pane of glass with fish swimming the lengths of it, almost peering in curiously at the new residents. On one half of the room, there were three beds and on the other side, another two. I spotted my trunk at the foot of one of the beds, emblazoned with the N.R of my initials. The trunk next to it had A.C painted in delicate gold lettering. I smiled at Iris as she stretched out lazily on my covers. But I quickly got the vibe of her mood when she shot me a death glare and hopped off the bed and slipped under the sheets. I opened my trunk and pulled out her plush green bed and slipped under the bed for her. Feeling a grateful lick on my hand which also served as a truce between the two of us. Our school uniforms were already clean and laid out for the next day. Three other girls whose beds faced ours introduced themselves as Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Sally-Anne Perks. I had heard each of their surnames before, assuming they must be the daughters of influential ministry workers.

As I laid under the soft and heavy blankets of my new large, four poster bed, I decided that I liked the Slytherin Common Room a great deal. I liked my new found friend too, and I was mostly relieved that Iris got on with Jinx, many a previous attempt at friendship had been foiled by my cat's instinctual dislike of most people.

So far, Hogwarts was proving to be everything I’d dreamed about and more.


	6. 1.6 Classes Begin

I had never imagined that I would spend one of my classes at Hogwarts being watched by a cat. Not that I wasn’t used to the sensation. Iris spent most of her time staring at me from her favourite spot on the window ledge at home. Yet here I was, sat next to Mia, who upon arrival had stroked the cat merely out of habit, not realising it would transfigure into the head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall. Mia’s face had swiftly gone a deep shade of pink as she darted back to her seat as McGonagall deducted 10 points from Slytherin. Whilst most of the class sniggered and the rest of Slytherin seemed displeased, Millicent, Sally-Anne and I had been in stitches behind our hands.

Potions class was slightly more eventful, as I had imagined it would be. Professor Snape was much like the school’s caretaker, Filch. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and my fellow first years had been assured by our older housemates that very morning that he would favour us well enough. He was our head of house after all.

Like McGonagall, Snape could control the class with little to no effort. Whilst he was low and quiet, he commanded respect and incited fear with every dulcet tone. I had decided that having Snape as my head of house could only work in my favour. As we were split into pairs to start mixing up a potion to cure boils, he swept around us all, his long black cloak billowing behind him. He criticised nearly everyone but when he reached Mia and me’s potion he stopped, arching an eyebrow. He waited a couple of minutes before going to the register and coming back to our table. At that point, Mia and I were clutching onto each other’s robe sleeves anxiously and every pair of eyes was watching us curiously.

“Rosier? I don’t suppose you’re related to Basil Rosier?” I nodded.

“My father.” Snape nodded curtly, before glancing into our potion again as a puff of green smoke appeared, making Mia and I jump slightly.

“It seems as though he has passed on his gift of potions.” He slid away again as I couldn’t help but smirk at my Gryffindor classmates.

“You are never pairing with anyone else for potions. Ever.” Mia whispered in my ear, sending the two of us into giggles as we continued with the potion.

Flying was by far, my favourite lesson of the week. Slytherin and Gryffindor were paired up to learn together but it emerged that Pansy was so scared of heights she hadn’t dared go near a broom. When Madam Hooch had tried to encourage her, she had started vomiting everywhere, and Millicent was sent to escort her to the hospital wing. After the initial drama of the lesson had subsided, we’d been instructed to instruct our brooms into our hands. Much to my own happiness, mine had shot up into my hand, earning me a few looks of dismay from some and annoyance from others. Mia’s broom had taken a few more minutes to obey her instructions but soon enough her broom was in hand. But the next dramatic moment was seconds away as Neville Longbottom’s broom took on a life of its own and flew off, colliding with the stone walls of the castle on the way. As he’d plummeted to the ground, it was clear our first flying lesson was over.

That night, in our dorm, Mia and I filled Pansy and Millicent in on what they’d missed.

“So, Madam Hooch left to take Longbottom to the hospital wing,” I said, sitting on my trunk at the foot of my bed in my oversized Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch Team T-Shirt.

“And Malfoy found this thing that Neville got sent for when you forget things. Said quite a few horrible things too.” Mia added.

“So, Potter stepped in. Embracing his new-found Gryffindor qualities and tried to get it back. Draco being, well himself, refused and flew off so Potter did the same.” I continued as I dipped my quill into my inkpot to continue writing my first letter home.

“Malfoy threw the ball and Potter shoots off after it like he’s been flying all his life,” Mia stated as she reached under her bed for her secret stash of sweets.

“McGonagall somehow found out, and Potter is taken away. Everyone is thinking he’ll spend the rest of the year in Detention, but no. He’s made the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He’s their new Seeker.”

“Which seems a bit of hypocritical given Madam Hooch literally said she would expel anyone who dared fly.”

“What do you guys think of that Gryffindor girl who seems to do exceptionally well in everything?” Sally-Anne asked. I shrugged as I recalled the girl in question, she hadn’t done well in flying, she’d been the last one to get her broom off the ground. The frustration in her voice had been annoying after the first two minutes of her repeating herself, by the time we had hit the five-minute mark, it finally obliged. Though I could have sworn I saw a flick of Madam Hooch’s wrist.

“I mean, she seems to be Flitwick’s new favourite. She mastered the levitation spell in about five minutes.”

“Mm, I heard the Patil twins talking,” Mia added, with a mouthful of Jelly Beans. “She’s a muggle-born from Surrey. Both her parents are dentists.”

“I guess she’s probably heard some pretty horrible things about Slytherin,” I said as I folded my letter over and tied it with a small green ribbon before pressing a wax stamp with my family crest into the hot red liquid.

“It wouldn’t be surprising. Especially if she’s a mudblood.” Pansy stated casually, her face still a little green from earlier in the day.

I was silenced. I’d hear the term before, my father had explained it to me when I was a young child. I knew it not to be a word that's heard in civilised conversation. Mia and I exchanged concerned looks as I pulled back my covers and climbed into bed. I tugged my blankets high up to my chin and slipped the letter onto my bedside table, making a mental note to seek out the Owlery at my next available opportunity. As I blew out the candle by my bed, I mulled over Pansy’s comment. I wasn’t sure what the best response was, so I decided to say nothing at all.


	7. 1.7 - Halloween

Chapter 1.7 - Halloween

Stood across from our Head of House as he rested his chin on interwoven fingers, Mia and I were doing our utmost best to conceal how truly proud we were of ourselves. Professor Snape, however, just continued to scowl as a few pieces of stray confetti remained stuck in his hair. My attempt to conceal my own smugness was the only thing that prevented me from collapsing into fits of laughter.

Eventually, Snape took a breath and placed his hands flat on the desk.

“Never.” He began calmly, “In all my years as a Hogwarts Professor, have I been as humiliated as I was tonight.” He stated through gritted teeth, glaring heavily at both of us with dark, angry eyes. I shifted my weight from one foot to another, taking a sudden keen interest in the wooden floor before Mia attempted to offer her best explanation.

“With the greatest of respect, Sir. We thought it was Malfoy coming through the door.”

“Has Mr. Malfoy not suffered enough at the hands of your childish pranks? The expanding taffy? The exploding pillows? Setting your oddly vicious cats on them? Have you not tortured your housemates enough for your liking?

“It was just a bit of fun, Professor. It’s Halloween, it’s the festival made for the magic world.” I remarked.

“It’s not fun when all my students are too terrified to attend my class because someone charmed their cauldrons to transfigure into pumpkins and promptly explode! If anything of this nature happens again I will have the two of you expelled!” Mia’s jaw dropped.

“Can you even do that?”

Mistake.

It was that question where the two of us learned to never again question the authority of Severus Snape. He slowly rose to his feet and with clenched, white knuckles, leant over his desk.

“As long as you attend this school and I am head of Slytherin House, your fate rests with me. So yes, Miss Cavett. I can do that, and I will. Now go straight to the feast and let’s not have this chat again. For both of your sakes.” Snape waved a dismissive hand and we silently traipsed out of the office.

“Miss Rosier?” Snape asked before I had walked through the threshold.

“Yes, Professor?”

“Get your cat under control. It’s supposed to be domesticated. If it attacks one more student or member of staff for that matter, it will be released into the Forest.” I hesitated, rocking briefly on the balls of my feet.

“Yes, Sir.” As soon as we were both out of earshot, we collapsed into fits of laughter that continued until we had returned to the Slytherin Common Room.

“I think we owe the Weasley twins a ‘thank you.’” Mia mentioned as we both sat on the large leather sofa in front of the large fireplace.

“Ah yes. It was worth it though! The look on the boys faces as they came flying out of their room! It was priceless!” I grinned as I stretched out before quickly deciding that I needed a shower.

“Where are you going? The feast starts soon.” Mia asked as I rose from my seat.

“I need a shower. Save me a seat and just pile a bit of everything on my plate. I won’t be long.” I smiled reassuringly.

Leaving the Slytherin Common Room with my clean towel and clothes stuffed into a small bag, I came across the familiar face of my brother. He was stood with Ember and two other friends when he spotted me.

“You got in trouble already? It’s only been two months.” He smiled in disbelief. “I heard about the pranks though.”

“You did?” I questioned.

“The Weasley twins,” Ember said, smiling delicately, her brunette hair pulled up into a ponytail. “They think they’ve found their proteges for when they leave.”

“Or get expelled, whichever comes first,” Alec commented.

“You’re not going to tell mum are you?” I questioned, chewing my lip nervously at the thought of a howler greeting me one morning.

“No. But I wouldn’t worry, Moonshine. According to Dad, mum was one of the main troublemakers whilst she was at school. Now if you don’t mind. I’m starving.” He patted his stomach and draped an arm over Ember’s shoulder.

“Don’t miss it, Nina. The Halloween feast is the best one.” Ember said as she was guided away to the Great Hall. I smiled and continued on my way to the showers.

There were showers in the Slytherin Common Room. But I had quickly managed to find the ones that produced the hottest water and those were on the middle floor. As I ascended the steps, the smell of food from the Great Hall made my mouth water. I quickened my pace. The corridor leading to the bathroom was completely empty and the storm that was raging outside did make for a rather creepy atmosphere. As I approached the shower blocks, my attention was diverted by what sounded like sniffling and crying. I took a few more steps towards the showers, intent on ignoring the sound but sighed as my morals dragged me back to the toilets. I dropped my towel and bag on a small wooden bench.

“Hello?” I asked, leaning around the corner. There was no response initially but whoever it was would have heard my footsteps by now so I couldn’t just walk away.

“Go away.” I recognized the voice and sighed.

“Grang…um, Hermione? Are you ok?” I asked.

“Just go away.” She said again. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and shrugged my shoulders, leaving the toilets and heading down a small corridor to the showers. I found one hidden in a corner, turned on the water and quickly slipped out of my uniform and stepped under the hot cascading water.

After rinsing my hair, and singing a concert’s worth of songs as loudly as I could, I reached out to the towel hook only to touch the damp tiles. Muttering some choice curse words, I opened the curtain.

_Typical Nina, well done. You’re such a put together person - you should write a book._

I wrung out my hair as well as I could and did my best impression of my families, Cocker Spaniel, when he’d spent too long in the lake. I grimaced as I tentatively redressed in my school uniform and fashioned a hairband with my tie. I made my way back to the toilets and marched to the bench where my towel was still laid. Frustrated, I let my hair down and roughly dried it before noticing the sound of running water. I glanced back at my shower and seeing I had, in fact, turned the water off, furrowed my eyebrows and made my way back to the toilets.

“Hermione? Are you still cry…?” I was quickly silenced by the sight of a mountain troll, face down on the bathroom floor, with Hermione, Ron and Harry stood at its head.

“What did you do?!” I asked, finding myself stepping over shards of smashed wood to get a better look at the chaos.

“It’s not dead,” Harry said, words that were not very reassuring to hear.

“Wait you were in there? How did you not hear us?!” Ron Weasley exclaimed and I felt a pink tinge rising in my cheeks, my singing must have been louder than I thought. A few moments of silence passed between the four of us. Just in time for Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell to rush in.

“Ah!” McGonagall exclaimed at the sight of the unconscious mountain troll. She clutched onto the doorframe and gestured to the three members of her house. She scanned across the four of us, three very dirty first years, and one poorly dressed, damp one.

“Explain yourselves this minute!” She demanded. Harry and Ron began trying to mutter out excuses before Professor Snape cut them off.

“Sorry to interrupt, what I’m sure is a most fascinating story but might I inquire about what my own student is doing here? Given that little more than an hour ago she was instructed to go straight to the Halloween feast?” I looked up as every face turned to me. Snape with clear anger, McGonagall with genuine curiosity about what a Slytherin would be doing associating with her own three Gryffindors, and Quirrel, who wasn’t actually looking at me at all, but wincing whilst staring down at the troll, as if it might wake any moment and continue its tirade of destruction.

“I just wanted to have a shower, Sir. I forgot my towel. Mia is saving me a seat in the Great Hall. Honestly.” I explained.

“It was my fault, Professor.” Hermione suddenly stated boldly. “I’d read about Mountain Trolls and thought I could handle it. I was wrong. If Harry and Ron hadn’t found me, I’d probably be dead.” McGonagall tutted and the expression on her face made her look as though she couldn’t wait for the Christmas holidays to begin.

“I am extremely disappointed in you and would have expected more rational decision making on your part. Five points from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgement. As for you two, I hope you realise how fortunate you are, surviving a mountain troll. Five points will be awarded to you both.” Having made her point, McGonagall and Snape left as Professor Quirrell ushered us out. I found myself awkwardly walking alongside the three Gryffindors, clutching my newly found towel to my chest. I nodded to them as Hermione and the two boys left for their Common Room and I ventured back down into the dungeons. Mia was on her feet the minute the door opened.

“Where were you? So much for not missing the feast! We didn’t even get to have dessert! Why are you damp?” Her questions roused our group's attention.

“Oh, you know. Showering isn’t possible now, not whilst there are Gryffindors battling trolls in the bathroom like it’s some kind of illegal fighting ring.”

“What?” Mia questioned. “The troll was in the dungeons!” I shook my head.

“No it wasn’t. It got into the girl's bathroom.”

“Shame it didn’t stand on you its way up. Oh, wait, judging by your appearance it did.” Draco sneered, rousing a chuckle from Crabbe and Goyle. I scrunched my nose and rolled my eyes.

“Oh whatever, Malfoy.” Mia accompanied me to our dorm where I dried my hair and slipped into my pyjamas. Iris looked up at me and meowed softly before laying on my feet as I curled under my covers. My bed seemed to be the safest place in the school at the moment. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 1.8 - Quidditch.

“Wake up! It’s Game Day! Come on! Get up!” I had my blankets ripped away from my body and tossed at the foot of my bed. Sitting up furiously, I was confronted with Amelia who was already dressed, wrapped warmly in her green and silver scarf.

“What is wrong with you?” I scowled as I rubbed my eyes.

“Oh, get up, moody. I thought you loved Quidditch? It’s the first match of the season and we’re playing!” Being reminded of the pending day’s events gave me the energy I needed to quickly dress. Choosing my plain clothes of a black skirt and emerald green cable-knit jumper. I found my house cloak and clipped the silver clasp at my neck and tied my scarf before pulling on my matching gloves.

The two of us made our way to the common room, finding it already filled with other students excitedly wearing our house colours. Mia and I approached the fireplace where Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, Blaise, Nott, Pansy, Millie and Sally-Anne were grouped together. Somehow the group that had started being just Mia and I, and then just our girl group, had expanded into being half of the Slytherin intake for the year. Mia had once or twice voiced her concerns to me about not being on ‘the list’ when our other friends were but it had been made clear by them, and me, that it didn’t matter. The hat put us in Slytherin for a reason and she fit into that mould, blood status aside.

“Excited for the first match?” Millie asked. "Didn't think you'd be up in time." She smiled, I rolled my eyes in response.

“Yeah, should be good.” I shrugged, playing down how excited I actually was. If I was going to play for the team one day, I would need to know exactly what we were capable of.

“I can’t wait!” Mia exclaimed and I couldn’t help but smile. Our love of Quidditch was one of the first things we’d bonded over during the first nights at Hogwarts, whispering about World Cups gone by long after our dorm mates had fallen asleep.

“Changing the subject entirely, but this has been bugging me ever since Halloween. Where do you suppose the teachers put that troll?” Mia questioned. I shrugged casually.

“Who knows? I’d like to know how it got in here in the first place. I thought trolls are supposed to be stupid - surely there’s no way it could have got here by itself.”

“They are. Newt says Troll brains are the size of a Quaffle. With most of the space being taken up by thinking about food.” Mia said, sounding oddly like Hermione.

“So, what?” Crabbe asked, tucking into a chocolate frog. “Someone let it in?”

“I think so. But who would let a troll into the school? Plus, with the third-floor corridor being blocked off this year. It seems oddly convenient. I asked my brother and he said, other than the Forbidden Forest, no other areas have been blocked off to students.”

“Then let’s find out.” Draco blurted abruptly. “If you’re so sure there’s a conspiracy, we’ll go and find out. Tonight. I’d like to see whats meant to be so scary about the third floor corridor anyway.” I couldn’t deny I was surprised by his statement, but concealing true emotions was something I was rather apt at and so I simply shrugged my shoulders.

“Fine. I’ll meet you here at midnight.” I replied calmly before linking arms with Mia and leaving for breakfast.

*

The noise from the Quidditch pitch could be heard from up at the school. The increasing volume serving to peak the young students’ excitement as we made our way to the Slytherins stands to support our house team. Towers rose between the students stands and I looked around the pitch. I could see the red and gold of Gryffindor on the other side of the grass along with the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw and yellow and black of Hufflepuff. Mia and I shuffled forward through our housemates until we had reached the barrier where we both began to wave our small green flags emblazoned with silver serpents.

“Isn’t Harry Potter making his debut today?” Mia shouted over the noise of the cheering crowd. I nodded as the early November wind blew my hair over my face, forcing me to tie it up.

“Yeah. The Gryffindors haven’t stopped going on about it.” We both looked down as the team doors opened and the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams flew out and began doing warm up laps of the pitch, igniting fresh boughs of excitement. After they had gotten the crowd warmed up, they took their starting positions in a circle with the two seekers above the other players. They all waited patiently as Madam Hooch stepped out onto the field with the trunk of playing balls. The crowd fell silent as she looked up at the floating players, making her expectations clear. Kicking the trunk, two heavy brown balls flew out of their own accord and up past the players. An enthusiastic voice came over the tannoy.

“The bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch, the player who catches the snitch, wins the game.” The snitch was so small it was almost impossible to see, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone again. Madam Hooch reached into the case and pulled out the final ball.

“The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!”

There was no build up to Quidditch, it’s very much an all or nothing game. Players were instantly taking hits and kicks from their opposing team and in some cases from their own equipment. Bludgers made a horrible whistling sound as they whipped around the pitch, almost as if they were looking for stray limbs to damage. There was no half-time, in fact there was no clock at all, in Quidditch, you played until a winner was declared and for a while it was close. Both teams drew at 20-20 and with one of Gryffindor’s chasers unconscious on the field, it looked promising.

The noise coming from the Slytherin stands appeared to add to the team’s motivation and the Snitch was spotted by Terrence Higgs and he shot off after it, Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the pitch, wondering where the debut Gryffindor Seeker was, when I spotted him, clinging onto the handle of his broomstick about twenty feet in the air.

“Look!” Crabbe shouted as he too spotted Harry. The entire Slytherin stand began to laugh and jeer at the youngest member of the Gryffindor team.

“What’s wrong with his broom?” Amelia asked.

“I don’t know - maybe it’s been jinxed?” I replied, quickly glancing behind me to spot Malfoy, seeing he was laughing at Harry like the rest of them, I decided it wasn’t him.

Harry slipped and the whole stadium gasped, even the Slytherin stand’s volume decreased in intensity. Then, his broom stopped trying to fling him off and Harry could swing his weight over and regain control, he wasted no time in flying after Higgs.

The snitch took a nose dive and so did both the seekers. They dove from above everyone’s heads and down past the stands, Higgs pulling away at the last-minute leaving Harry chasing the snitch alone. General gameplay seemed to have suspended as everyone watched as Harry stood on the handle of his broom, slowly inching further and further to the edge with one arm outstretched, reaching for the snitch.

“He’s going to fa…” Amelia began but was cut short as Harry fell off the end of his broom and barrel rolled onto the pitch. Silence fell over the stadium as he stood and clutched his stomach. Amelia’s hands shot to cover her eyes.

“Is he gonna be sick? I can’t stand vomit.” She muffled through her woollen gloves.

She was the only one looking away – the rest of the stadium watched as Harry heaved once more and the snitch popped out his mouth and landed in his gloved palms.

Lee Jordan’s voice boomed over the tannoy.

“Harry Potter has caught the snitch and scored 150 points!”

Flying above them all, Madam Hooch blew her whistle declaring Gryffindor the winners.

Applause broke out in every stand other than where green and silver dominated and chants of 'Go, Go, Gryffindor' drowned out the Slytherin’s boos and jeers.

“I don’t know if I like Quidditch as much as I thought.” Amelia commented, having uncovered her eyes once the crowd had broken out in cheer.

“I’m sure we’ll do better in the next game.” I said as we turned and began to shuffle back to the castle for lunch with the rest of our disappointed housemates.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 1.9 - The Third Floor Corridor.

I pulled my dormitory door closed as quietly as I could, hoping to not wake my sleeping dorm mates. Mia had said she would stay up and join Draco and I on our adventure but almost as soon as we had gotten into bed, she had fallen into a deep slumber. I tiptoed into the common room where the fire was smouldering. Draco was sat on the sofa already waiting, fully dressed also wearing his Slytherin Cloak. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Did you actually do your hair to sneak out in the middle of the night?” He stood up and sighed, annoyance clearly displayed on his face.

“Are we doing this or not?” He asked impatiently and I simply replied with a nod.

“I didn’t force myself to wake up at 12 am for nothing. I want to know what’s so deadly about that corridor.” We left our Common Room and slowly made our way up the steps and into the dimly lit main hall of the castle where the staircases still moved in the dead of night.

“Where is it?” I questioned, squinting in the darkness, trying to find the small door we were all forbidden from. Draco drew his wand and pointed it upwards.

“Lumos.” A bright white light illuminated all the entrances the staircases led to. I pointed to each door on each floor and counted until I found the one I was looking for.

“Look, there it is.” I pointed, we quickly jumped onto the first staircase as it began to rotate around to the second floor where we slipped past a lost looking ghost and onto another flight of stairs that took us onto the left-hand side of the third floor. Another ghost that reminded me of the Bloody Baron caused us both to quickly slip out of sight until he passed before we ran across the bridge and onto the right-hand side, just as the staircase slipped away and we were left on a small ledge with nowhere to go but through the door.

“Come on,” I muttered as I lifted the heavy lock and pushed the door open. Its hinges creaked loudly and as it swung partially closed behind us, we were in pitch black for a moment until a concrete pillar ignited and we were thrown into the firelight, exposing a ghoulish statue that loomed over us both. It was draped in cobwebs and looked as though it had remained untouched for years. Its long, claw-like fingers almost seemed to move in the flickering torchlight.

“Ok, granted it’s creepy. But I don’t see how it’s dangerous.” I said. Suddenly, there was a harsh meow from behind us and we both turned to face a dishevelled looking tabby cat with large, yellow eyes.

“It’s that Squib’s cat!” Draco exclaimed as it meowed again and took a few steps towards us.

“Come on!” I said, beginning to briskly walk away and breaking out into a run as it continued to follow us.

“Mrs Norris?” We heard Filch call. Torches along the wall continued to light by themselves, exposing statue after statue, each one seemed to reach out to grab us. At the end of the hall were two more, both with huge stone wings, covering their faces. Draco yanked on the handle of the door between them.

“It’s locked!” He cursed.

“Move!” I took out my own wand and remembered one of the spells I had studied before school started.

“Alohamora,” I whispered, the latch lifted itself and we both slipped into the room, swiftly closing the door behind us. Draco pressed his ear against the wood as I took a few steps back into the dark room. There was an unusual warm breeze, someone must have left a window open. But, it’s November. There would be no warm air this time of year.

“I think he’s gone,” Draco said as he lifted his head from the wood.

“Open the door,” I said as my eyes fell onto the origin of the breeze.

“Why?” He questioned as he turned to look at me, he was quickly silenced by the large three-headed dog that lifted its heads and began to snarl at the two of us. I turned on the spot and ripped the door handle up again and ran out, Draco following closely. We both leant on the door to shut it as the dog plunged its heads into the doorway, pushing it back open again.

“Close it!” Draco yelled I rolled my eyes as I forced all my weight onto the old wood. His hand was pressed against mine, pushing on the door, we both willed it to close. Eventually, we managed to catch the lock and Draco fired a spell to prevent it from slipping open.

As we both took a step back to make sure the door would hold, I looked at the statues once again and furrowed my eyebrows.

“Weren’t those statues covering their faces before?” I questioned.

“What? I don’t know - I didn’t even notice them.” Draco stated as he tried to catch his breath. Without another word we both turned and quickly made our way from the corridor and hurried back down into the dungeons. We stopping to look over our shoulders once we were back inside the Slytherin Common Room.

“What do they think they’re doing? Keeping that…that thing locked up in a school?!” Draco exclaimed as the portrait door closed behind us. “Wait until my father hears about this.”

The remnants of adrenalin were still flowing through my veins and my temple was damp with what I was sure was dog spit.

“Who the hell knows? Or cares? We went to the corridor, we found out that yes, it is banned, for good reason and you will in fact, most likely die a horrible death. Just like Dumbledore said.” I replied.

“So, are you happy now? We’ve been, we’ve seen it and almost died in the process.” Draco grumbled before heading in the direction of the boy’s dormitories.

“I’m going back to bed and you better hope none of the paintings rat us out” He marched off to his room and I ventured in the opposite direction.

There was nothing unfamiliar about the dimly lit hall leading to my room but for some reason, I couldn’t shake a feeling of being watched. I slipped into my room and gently closed the door before yanking off my shoes. I pulled the curtains around my bed closed and laying under my blankets, holding them up under my chin, exhaustion quickly claiming me.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 1.10 - Christmas.

The snow fell early in winter, about midway through November. Classes were quickly overcome by fidgeting eleven year olds, myself and Mia included. All of us wanted nothing more than to go out into the courtyard and initiate snowball fights. Teams would form automatically and if it wasn’t house vs house, it was girls vs boys and the girls more often than not seemed to win.

On the final day before Christmas Break was due to start, the last lesson of the day was potions and Professor Snape struggled greatly to keep us in a mode of concentration. Eventually, he dropped his parchment onto his desk and silently waved us out. No one needed telling twice and we took advantage of the freshly fallen blanket and the freedom of no other students to start yet another battle of snowballs. Forts were quickly charmed upwards from the ground and battle lines were drawn as Slytherin stood on one side and Ravenclaw on the other. Very quickly it was clear that we were winning, even if it wasn’t necessarily by the fairest means. One unfortunate boy stood up from his defensive wall at precisely the wrong moment and Mia managed to strike his face with a well compacted snowball.

“Yes!’ She laughed victoriously before she began charming the snow around her feet to make more weapons. I briefly looked over our own defensive wall to the boy who was now clutching his cheek but still smiling underneath a gloved hand. Another snowball briefly scraped his head before he quickly ducked and didn’t dare breach the top of the wall again.

*  
As Christmas Day itself approached, students slowly began to pack up their trunks and leave. By the time Christmas Eve came around, Mia and I were one of only a few Slytherins left and if we were being entirely honest, the solitude was rather pleasant. We had three spare beds in our dorm which quickly became temporary lounging areas for Iris and Jinx. Mia and I were both able to have the large sofa right in front of the fireplace to ourselves (the only other Slytherin’s who stayed were exam-anxious seventh years ) and we’d made it quite comfortable. We chose to spend most of our days reading under the furs we’d dragged from our beds.

“How come you haven’t gone home for the holidays?” I questioned Mia as she sat sketching on her knees whilst Jinx purred at her feet, providing quite the toe warmer.

“My parents decided to go on a cruise or something to somewhere hot. My dad hates winter. How come you’re still here?”

“Alec has gone back with his girlfriend to meet her family; I think they’re getting quite serious. My mum wanted me to go home but to be honest, I wanted to see what Hogwarts was like at Christmas. It’s a whole different place when there’s hardly anyone here.”

“It is. It’s so much more peaceful.” Mia replied before looking to the corner of the common room. “The tree looks great, too.” I nodded in agreement, we had all tumbled out of bed on the 1st of December to find the giant Norwegian Spruce scattered with green and silver ornaments. It looked rather glamorous with delicately wrapped decorations underneath. The rest of the common room had seemingly decorated itself as well. Tinsel was draped from the walls and the mantle place whilst garland was wrapped around the concrete pillars that bordered the tall windows. When we had returned from our classes on that same day at the beginning of December, we’d found our dormitories decorated too. Stacks of Christmas cards, mostly generic ones from teachers were sat on our bedside tables and Mia and I had been surprised to see that even Professor Snape had signed a card. It had a hissing serpent on the front with tinsel wrapped around its neck. We quickly suspected that it had been written more out of obligation than sincerity. Inside was one letter.

S

It was admittedly one of the odder things we’d received. But it was hung with the others none the less. The card from my parents had been considerably funnier. My father had decided that as Alec and I weren’t going home for Christmas, he would have to replace our pictures on the front of the card and so my parents were sat, arm in arm smiling at the camera with one eagle sat on my Father’s shoulder and a small snake wrapped around my mothers hand. It had taken some explaining to Mia but she too appreciated my fathers humour. I knew he would appreciate it when they eventually met.

We had followed Professor Snape’s instructions from Halloween and not set off any pranks in the build up to the holidays. Much to the dismay of Fred and George Weasley who were more than happy to continue to supply the two of us with weapons of mass humiliation.

“Do you suppose you’ll get many gifts?” I asked, breaking the prolonged silence.   
“Well, I have asked for some new sketching parchment and quills. Flourish and Blotts always do a huge Christmas sale so my parents normally get most of my stuff from there. What about you?”

“I always expect one weird present from my grandparents, they always send me the weirdest things that come in surprisingly useful.”

“Which grandparents?” Mia questioned causing me to look up from my book.

“What do you mean?”

“Is it your dad’s parents or your mums?”

“Oh. Mum’s. My grandfather on that side of the family died before I was born and my grandmother doesn’t speak to us.”

“Why?” Mia questioned and I smiled lightly.

“It’s a long story. For another time I think.”

We spent the evening in each other’s company, occasionally making trips to the Great Hall for the endless supply of Christmas Food. Ghosts lined the halls singing old carols from the days they had lived and even the teachers seemed in merrier moods.

“Where do you suppose they go?” Mia asked as we made our way back to the common room with yet more armfuls of food.

“Huh?” I asked, my mind wandering to the stack of books that waited for me under my blanket.

“At Christmas, the teachers. Most of them leave. Do they go on holiday? They can’t go home; they live here don’t they?” We both paused to watch as Professor Flitwick left the castle with his bags, some bigger than him, levitating after him. A quick laugh was shared between us before we continued our way back to the common room.

“It’s weird imagining teachers being anywhere other than Hogwarts.” I commented as we dropped our food collection onto the table with the growing pile of rubbish we’d accumulated. Sweet wrappers were acting as makeshift bookmark, ink wells and quills were stacked on top of one another, half finished drawings on each one. We both sat in front of the large glass window that covered a whole wall, trying to spot the giant squid that would often swim by and try to scare us.

*

“Wake up, Mia! It’s Christmas!” I cried as I pulled the blankets from my sleeping friend. Ice had formed around the edges of our windows as the lake’s surface had frozen over and made for a underwater winter wonderland outside our room. Stuffing our slippers onto our feet, we ran down the hall into the Common Room where presents laid under the tree. Before we delved into the gifts from our families we exchanged the gifts we had brought for each other. In the run-up to the holidays we had both written to our parents with strict instructions for what they were to purchase.

I smiled as I unwrapped the gift, exposing a delicate silver quill. A small ink well of liquid gold ink tumbled into my lap as well.

“The quill won’t write any other ink than the gold one in the pot. And when you write, it vanishes into the parchment and will only appear again if you ask it to.”

“How will it know that it’s me?” I questioned, Mia thought about it for a moment.

“I think it senses your touch from when you wrote it. But it means you’ll be able to keep a diary or something without worrying about anyone reading it.”

“Thanks, Mia.” I smiled as I draped an arm over her shoulder and we shard a quick hug. I scurried under the tree and pulled out my present to Mia. My mother had wrapped it before sending to me, due to my innate dislike of wrapping gifts. I couldn’t help but smile expectantly as Mia unwrapped the paper, exposing the green leather notebook with a silver metal serpent embossed on the front and a tiny lock.

“It doesn’t have a key.” Mia noticed and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh, but it does. Here.” I handed her a ring box that held a tiny silver band that would just fit on her little finger, it was in the shape of a thin snake. ‘The ring is charmed, when you hold it near the padlock, the snake slides off your finger and unlocks the notebook. No other key will fit it; it can’t be charmed open or forced. So you can write down all you evil plans and your hit lists and no one will ever be able to see it.”  
“Awesome. I can plan my world domination in peace.” She grinned and I laughed.

“That’s exactly what I thought.” As we both began clearing away the shreds of wrapping paper and tossing them into the fireplace, I came across one last present that had been put at the back of the tree. As I unfolded the label, I saw it was for Mia.

“Mia? You have another gift.”

“What? I thought we agreed on just one each.” Mia said as she came back over to the tree.

“Yeah we did. It’s not from me.” I handed her the gift as I sat in one of the many armchairs, opening my box of Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans from my Dad. Mia ripped open the paper and opened the box. She pulled out a snow globe that had two little figures running around throwing snowballs at one another. They didn’t have faces or hair but wore little black school robes and when Mia shook the globe, green and blue glitter filled it and the figures stopped throwing the snowballs and held out their hands as if the glitter were snow and they were trying to catch the flakes in their hands.

“That is one of the cutest things I have seen.” I said, Mia just stared at her new gift.

“It’s beautiful.” She whispered before placing it gently on the table. As soon as the glitter settled, the two figures started throwing snowballs again and we could actually hear them laughing through the glass.

“I love magic.” Mia sighed.

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 1.11 - Exams

The teachers wasted no time in thrusting exams onto us in the early spring. There was little chance to enjoy the blossoming flowers or spend warm, lazy afternoons by the lake. We were all trapped inside, either in classrooms or the great hall, furiously studying.

To make it even worse, Draco had developed a new level of smugness over the holidays and was inflicting it on everyone around him. That was, at least until he got caught sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night to try and get Harry and his friends in trouble. Credit to him, he succeeded in ratting out Hagrid who had somehow acquired a dragon egg and then proceeded to hatch it on school grounds. Apparently, he was intent on raising it as his own.

“Everyone knows you can’t tame Dragons.” Mia said with a mouthful of fried eggs, quickly washed down with orange juice. As I washed down my own breakfast with a sweet cup of tea, I arched an eyebrow at the two slices of toast that Mia slipped into her satchel.

“What?” She questioned rhetorically, looking up to see my mildly judgmental face. “You’re making us spend the whole day in the library. I need sustenance.” I couldn’t help but smile as we got up from our seats and headed to the library.

*

We found our favourite corner of the library, in front of a window with a high bookcase behind us. As we dropped our bags, and Mia resumed eating her toast, I went in search of the book I would need for my charms exam.

As I made my way between the streams of students, some carrying books almost as big as them, I heard the end of a sentence that caught my attention.

“…that explains the troll on Halloween. I told you it wouldn’t have got in by itself. Trolls are stupid!” I froze in my spot and busied myself pretending to look through books whilst I listened intently to the continuing conversation.

“Look, Fluffy isn’t hidden on the third-floor corridor for no reason. He’s guarding something. Hagrid said so himself.” I had moved around the bookcase before I could stop myself.

“Fluffy?! That thing that tried to kill me is called Fluffy?!” The three Gryffindors looked at me with surprise, shock and annoyance on each of their faces.

“It’s rude to listen to other people’s conversations.” Hermione said, crossing her arms.

“Yes. I was raised with exceptional high standards of etiquette, thank you.” I retorted. “Maybe if you wanted your conversation to remain private, you should speak a little quieter next time.” My quick-witted comeback roused a smirk from Ron before Hermione shot him a disapproving look. He suddenly went on to take a keen interest in his shoes.

“What do you want?” Hermione finally asked.

“I want to know what you’re up to. That thing…Fluffy, tried to kill me. I wanted to know why the third floor corridor was out of bounds and we just stumbled across it. You said it’s here because it’s guarding something.”

“We?” Hermione questioned. I’d hoped she wouldn’t pick up on the accidental slip but I would never be that lucky.

“Someone else saw it too?” Harry asked. I stayed silent, I knew that telling them Draco had been with me would be the worst choice possible. They would certainly rat him out to McGonagall and he would know it was me, I did not need Draco Malfoy making my life difficult.

“I took my cat… she’s very attached.” They didn’t look like they believed me at all but that was the only lie they were going to get. Hermione sighed, sharing a knowing look with the two boys and gestured for me to look at a book she had open on the window ledge.

“The Philosopher’s Stone? I’ve never heard of it?” Hermione sighed again, as if she was rather annoyed before she went on to explain, with precision-like detail, what the Philosophers Stone was. By the time she was done, she had to exhale quite deeply. I glanced at the two boys.

“Welcome to our world.” Ron stated, causing me to almost smile.

“Ok.” I said. “Fluffy is guarding the Philosophers Stone, that is hidden in the depths of the castle and you three, think Snape is trying to steal it to bring You-Know-Who back to life?” I kept my voice low as the three Gryffindor’s nodded in sync with each other.

“That’s insane.”

“It’s the truth! Snape cut his leg on Halloween, I saw it myself.” Harry stated.

“When?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Before the troll got into the bathroom.” Ron said.

“Rubbish. He was yelling at Mia and I in his office for letting off pranks.”

“Wait, that was you two? The exploding pumpkins?” Ron questioned, a grin beginning to form on his freckled face.

“Amongst other things, yes. That was us.”

“Brilliant.” He smiled and I couldn’t help but return the gesture.

“See, Weasley? We’re not all bad.”

“Can we please focus?” Hermione questioned. “What are we going to do now he knows? She’s a Slytherin after all. Can we even trust her?”

“You would never had made it in Hufflepuff, Granger. Their far too polite for you.” I stated. Hermione scowled heavenly in response to my statement.

“Yes. You can trust me. I mean I’m 100% going to tell Mia but she won’t tell anyone.”

“What about Malfoy?” Harry questioned, causing all three of the Gryffindors to look intently at me.

“What about him?” I asked, for some reason feeling annoyed that Harry brought him up.

“Aren’t you friends?” I grimaced slightly.

“Depends how loosely you use the term, ‘friends’. I mean, we have a laugh and we’re in the same friendship group. But make no mistake - we all took great joy in seeing how scared he was after serving detention in the Forbidden Forest with you guys.”

“Yes. Well, we were all scared.” Hermione said quietly.

“Why? He never told us what happened?”

“That’s where I saw Voldemort.” Harry sad simply. “He’s been killing unicorns and drinking their blood.”

“But he’s dead. Voldemort is dead.” Harry shook his head.

“We don’t think so. That’s what we’re saying, with the Philosophers Stone…he could come back. Stronger than ever.” I paused for a moment.

“Of course, you’d be safe, with your pureblood. But between the three of us, a ‘blood-traitor’, a muggle born and Harry himself. We’ll all be top of the list.” Ron exclaimed.

“Wait, what?” Harry questioned, I sighed whilst glaring heavily at Ron causing him to avert his gaze.

“My grandfather. He was a high-ranking Death Eater during the First Wizarding War. A big supporter of blood supremacy.” The three Gryffindors shuffled unsurely.

“He died.” I continued. “When my Dad got sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin like the rest of the family, it caused some…tension. Needless to say, we don’t speak to them. At all. My parents don’t support Voldemort in anyway and neither do I.”

“Well then. Fancy a trip down a trap door tonight?” Harry asked much to the shock of Ron and Hermione. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 1.12 - Through the Trapdoor

I made sure my dorm mates were sleeping soundly before I pulled back my blankets. I had gone to bed fully dressed, making sure my duvet was tucked up under my chin so the other girls didn’t notice. True to my word I had told Mia everything that had occurred in the library and she had been determined to join me on my expulsion-worthy escapades with the three Gryffindors. But as I looked over to her bed, and heard the soft snores coming from under the covers, I decided to let her sleep. I had learnt over the school year that tired Mia was cranky Mia and that was no fun for anyone involved. I silently slipped on my black pumps and left the dorm.

The Slytherin Common Room was empty, even the fire, normally burning in the grand fireplace had been reduced to glowing hot embers. There was one ghost sat a desk, casually flicking through an open book a student had left. She didn’t even look up as I cautiously opened the portrait door and slipped out into the cold, dimly lit corridor.

I couldn’t deny it was exceptionally creepy, especially being alone at night. But I carried on up the large flight of stars into the torchlight of the main hall. The staircases were relatively still and a soft snowing could be heard from the portraits. I slipped into a concealed corner and patiently waited for the other three students to arrive.

“Nina.” I eventually heard, though it was no more than a hushed whisper.

“Potter? Is that you? Where are you?” I watched with astonishment as the three Gryffindor’s appeared right in front of my by slipping off a silvery clock that pooled at their feet.

“You have an invisibility cloak?” I asked, the surprise clear in my voice. “Where did you get it?”

“It’s not important.” Hermione stated quickly before Harry could answer. I arched an eyebrow before quickly returning my expression to normal.

“Come on. Get under. It’s big enough for all of us.” Harry reassured. I hesitantly joined them and the cloak was pulled over the four of us as we began to navigate the moving staircases once more.

*

Hermione used the same charm to unlock the door as I had when Draco and I had been exploring ourselves. As the old wood swung open on creaky hinges, a blast of warm air caused the cloak to ripple around our ankles.

As Ron pulled the door closed behind us, another blast blew the cloak away completely and I once again saw the giant three headed dog, snoring loudly, fast asleep.

“Snape must have already been here.” Hermione stated as I spotted a harp in one corner, playing soft music. I still hadn’t completely accepted the idea that my head of house was working with Voldemort. But I had been well informed of the horror stories that led to my grandfather’s death during the First Wizarding War so I wasn’t going to take a chance on it.

“Look, it’s paw is covering the door, help me move it.” Harry said, I watched as Hermione and Ron quickly followed his request and approached the giant clawed paw. I sighed as I joined them and assisted in dragging it free of the door. Harry leant forward and pulled it open as the four of us peered into the darkness. Harry then began listing off another set of instructions. As I casually listened, but didn’t pay a great deal of attention, I noticed something.

“Guys. Does it seem oddly quiet?” I said as they all turned to me. I then watched as a large drop of thick liquid fell onto Ron’s shoulder and rolled down his shirt. I grimaced as he tried to wipe it off.

“Ugh. It’s spit!” My heart sank as I felt warm breath blow on the top of my head. Slowly, I looked up and was met with three sets of sharp, snarling jaws.

“Jump!” Harry shouted and he fell through the door and down into the darkness below. Hermione quickly followed behind. I shoved myself in front of Ron whilst he was still yelling at Fluffy but took hold of his shirt and pulled him though after me just as Fluffy bit down on the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	13. Killer Plants and Flying Keys

I landed with a soft thud and my eyes slowly adjusted to the new darkness surrounding me. 

“Is everyone ok?” Harry asked. I couldn’t see him but it sounded like he was somewhere behind me. I nodded to myself and muttered a yes before propping myself up on my elbows, it was too dark to see what we’d all fallen into but whatever it was, it was warm and firm and felt almost alive. As I kicked one foot, I thought I felt something move over my ankle. 

“What is this stuff?” I asked. As I moved my arm, a strong black vine wrapped around my wrist and began to tighten. I panicked instantly and started yanking on it, only to find it wrapping tighter and tighter, bringing on a feeling of pins and needles in my fingers. Vines quickly also began to slide around my neck and pull my head back. My breathing increased as they took hold of my feet and my other arm until I was complete bound. 

“What is going on?!” I exclaimed and tried to free my limbs from the tightening vines. 

“I read about these in Herbology.” I heard Hermione explain, though her voice sounded strained, “This is Devil’s Snare. It’s like a Venus fly tap. The more the prey struggles, the tighter the vines get and the faster it kills you.” 

“Oh, marvellous!” I heard Ron exclaim and he sounded like he was fighting fruitlessly against the vines. 

“Relax! Honestly, it’s the only thing that will work!” We head Hermione call from somewhere underneath us. 

“Hermione, where are you?” Harry called. 

“Relax! Trust me!” I stopped struggling and sat as still as I could, my heart still pounding and the blood rushing in my ears but after a few moments the vines began to loosen and I fell though the bottom and onto a hard-concrete floor - landing hard on my shoulder. 

“Ow!” I winced as Hermione rushed over and helped me to my feet. As soon as I was standing again, Harry fell through and quickly got to his feet, rubbing his elbow. Ron remained above them all, yelling louder and louder, the struggle evident in his voice. 

“I think he’s a bit past the relaxing stage.” I said as my mind began searching for a resolution to the problem before the plant constricted the life out of him. 

“I know I read something about how to stop it.” Hermione exclaimed, clearly distressed at her own inability to recall the critical information. Harry and I exchanged a distressed look as I shrugged my shoulders, wincing as pain shot through my arm. My brain failing to come up with any successful ideas on how to free Ron. 

“I’ve got it!” Hermione suddenly stated. “Devil’s Snare will sulk in the sun!” 

“What?” I questioned as Hermione pulled our her wand and pointed it to the vines above our heads. 

“Lumos Solem!” A bright light erupted from the end of her wand and soaked the snare in fake sunlight. It seemed to scream in pain and the vines loosened and dropped Ron through. He fell to the floor with a heavy thud and quickly got to his feet. 

“Good thing we didn’t panic!” He exclaimed, looking round each of us as he brushed off his clothes. I sighed, ignoring Harry’s comment, and headed for a door I had spotted earlier. 

“What do you think is through there?” Hermione questioned, I shrugged in response. 

“I don’t know. But compared to that thing, how bad can it be?” I pushed on the heavy door and the sound of fluttering wings were heard before they could be seen. The room was small in width but stretched high above us, a vaulted ceiling allowing odd looking birds to fly above our heads. 

“What kind of birds are they?” I questioned as Ron headed straight for the door on the other side. He tried to open it but the old lock stayed firmly shut. 

“I don’t think they’re birds. I think they’re keys.” Harry commented. 

“This is going to be impossible!” Hermione explained as Harry slowly approached a broom that was floating by itself in the middle of a moon-light soaked spot of the room. 

“There’s got to be hundreds of keys up there.” I stated as I watched them glint in the moonlight. 

“Yeah. But it will need to match the lock so it needs to be big, rusty and old.” Ron said. Harry looked upwards and suddenly pointed. 

“There! I see it! It has a broken wing.” I looked upwards to the ceiling and spotted the key he was referring to. It flew a little slower than the rest and seemed to fly with a limp. 

“How do you get it?” I questioned. Harry continued to stare at the broom. 

“It almost seems to easy.” He commented quietly. 

“Oh, go on Harry! If Snape can catch a key on that old broomstick you can! You’re the youngest seeker in a century!” Ron stated. Harry continued to stare at the broom as if it too would reassure him before he firmly grasped the handle and mounted the broom. He briefly looked up to the ceiling to locate the bewitched key once more before he kicked off from the ground hard and took off above our heads. The three of us on the ground watched as Harry swooped and dived between the ceiling vaults with one arm outstretched. As the key did a quick dip, he followed sharply and managed to grasp it. 

As soon as he had hold of it, the other keys quickly changed their original course of flight and darted after Harry. He made shard turns in the air to try and shake them off but they continued their pursuit. As Harry flew over my head, he threw the key down and I managed to just catch one of it’s filmy wings. I plucked them from the key to prevent it from flying off again, earning shocked looks from Ron and Hermione. 

“It’s a key for Merlin’s sake! Take it!” I ordered Ron as I ran over to him and Hermione. He took it from me and crammed it into the lock. It took the three of us pushing all our weight against the oak to get the door to move. We held it open long enough for Harry to swoop through before we slammed it shut, hearing the high-pitched hammering of the pursuing keys on the other side. 

We were all panting heavily as Harry dismounted the boom and dropped it at his feet. We were in a square hall with an archway leading to another room. As we stood at the entrance, we heard the fires lighting themselves, a familiar orange glow casting shadows on the floor ahead of us.

Hermione took a few steps forward before turning back to us. 

“Come on. How bad can it be?”


End file.
